Declassified: why women in the Qing Dynasty to get married in a sedan chair

As the saying goes: "big girl sitting in a sedan chair - the first time." Indeed, in the traditional marriage rituals, a sedan chair is most called indispensable props, which derives from the sedan chair, sedan chair, drink sedan chair, hosting the pro, turn the mirror, the pressure of the street (upside down sedan chair), the sedan chair and a series of bureaucratic rituals, the entire marriage ceremony activities of the celebratory atmosphere to a climax. Even until after the marriage registration marriage will be legally protected today, there are still many brides think not to sit in the car will not be considered officially married - this kind of car to send the bride, as a rule, dressed up with flowers, in fact, is a variant of the traditional sedan chair.

Records, has been the late Tang Dynasty; its prototype "eave" (mikoshi) of the popularity of the early Tang Dynasty. Prior to this, regardless of the government and the people to get married, all with horse-drawn carriage to welcome the bride. At the same time, the governments of the Tang and Song dynasties issued bans on the use of the carriage or sedan chair by the common people, but only by the emperor and his authorized officials. From the "Tokyo Dreaming Records", "five miscellaneous chopping board" and other writings written by the Song and Ming people can be seen, about since the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, began to have "flower eaves" to welcome the bride's popularity in Bianjing, to the Song Dynasty moved to the capital of Jiangnan, the sedan chair to meet the bride to be a social fashion, and has been inherited since then. In terms of manpower, speed and cost, the sedan chair is obviously not as convenient as the car and horse, that is, in terms of comfort and grandeur may not be comparable. Because of this, from the carriage to the sedan chair change is how to happen, it has become a matter of interest.